Monday, June 25, 2007

Twins: Opening Week Thoughts

The Appalachian League baseball season is underway and the Elizabethton Twins are off to an impressive 4-0 start with season opening sweeps of the Kingsport Mets and Greeneville Astros.

Elizabethton's offense is impressive. Mark Dolenc and Rene Leveret have really impressed me thus far. Especially Leveret. A standout in the Dominican Summer League a year ago, Leveret is one of the hardest working guys on the team and someone that has the potential to make a name for himself in the years to come. Elizabethton is fortunate to have him.

One of the surprises on the squad is the team's "local" boy Ben Petsch, a standout catcher at Belmont University in Nashville and native of Middle Tennessee. Petsch played left field in his debut against Kingsport and may play both catcher and outfielder this season. His bat has been surprising, as he's gotten off to a hot start with a home run and a clutch double thus far in the season.

The story thus far has been Loek Van Mil and Chris Cates. Van Mil, the game's tallest player at 7-1, and Cates, the game's shortest player at under 5-3, have had some neat moments off the field since Cates' arrival Saturday. During the second of two 90-minute rain delays on Sunday, Van Mil and Cates posed for some photos for some of the younger female fans. Van Mil bent his arm and his elbow fit exactly on top of Cates' head. Both of the players are having fun with the idea of playing each other and expected attention due to their respective heights.

This team is a fun bunch. The last fun bunch we had in town, the 2005 team, won the Appy League title. This team is off to a better start than that crew... so we may be in for a fun season!

I'll be back on Wednesday with a recap of the rematch of the previous two Appalachian League championship series as defending league champ Danville visits Elizabethton.

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